Stanley condemns Mayo household charge summonses

Sinn Fein
spokesperson on environment, community & local government, Brian Stanley TD
today condemned the issuing of summonses by Mayo County Council for non payment
of the Household Charge.

Deputy Stanley
said:

“'I condemn in
the strongest possible terms the bully boy tactics of Mayo County Council. This
course of action will prove to be a disaster for the government. It will create
outrage amongst the public. We could easily see lone parents, those in receipt
of welfare and pensioners all being dragged through the courts.

“Sinn Fein has
consistently opposed this charge. We have from the onset said this charge is
both unjust and unworkable. The whole sorry affair has been mishandled from the
start. We had the ridiculous situation earlier this week with the Local
Government Management Agency mistakenly sending out tens of thousands of
letters demanding payment from households who had already paid. Many of these
households may now end up in court.

“The Household Charge
has the potential to criminalise hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding
citizens.

“Mayo County
Council must withdraw the summons immediately. I urge other local authorities
not to go down this road of court action. It will only lead to further
confrontation.”

“In conclusion
Deputy Stanley said: “Minister Hogan is ultimately responsible for this
disaster. He must reverse the Household Charge and reimburse those who have
paid.”